The following is, I believe, a fairly detailed review of the new Old Town Loon 106. Hopefully it will answer some questions for those who have them. So.....I decided to spoil myself with a new boat. I knew I wanted a boat in the 10 foot range, which is what I’ve mostly been paddling for the last several years. For comparison, I’ve been paddling a Perception Sunrise 10., which EMS used to carry. The Sunrise is an excellent boat in the mid-price range (around $500 retail but I scored them on sale). It is pretty comfortable and tracks pretty well in a variety of conditions, and was also pretty smooth to paddle. However, as I’m getting older and my back occasionally complains with longer paddles ((over 2 hours), I was looking for an upgrade. My priorities included a very comfortable seat and boat, that tracked well and was quiet in the water, that with any luck would carry me to the end of my paddling days, hopefully many moons from now. After doing some research and testing a few models at a local paddle shop, I decided to go with the Old Town Loon 106. I had paddled the old style Loon in Maine in large, open ponds in Baxter State Park quite a few times during multiple trips there over the past ten plus years, and enjoyed it a great deal. The new Loon is a beauty. It had the most comfortable seat of those I tried (far more comfortable in some cases), and was nice to paddle (as well as you can tell in a small pond for trying out boats). Since my new Loon came in a few weeks ago, I’ve been out in it over 11 hours in multiple locations in lakes and on creeks, from slow, calm water, to water with some chop and waves. It’s handled it all like a pro. The seat is incredibly comfortable and has lots of adjustments. Once you find a sweet spot for your back as I did, I don’t know that you’ll need to tweak it very often. I certainly haven’t so far. But the point is, if you’d like to, you can, and in a variety of ways, all while sitting in the seat. The boat is also very comfortable to be in in general. Foot braces are larger than my older boat, which feel great under foot. There is plenty of room for my long legs (I’m 6 feet tall) in a variety of leg positions. The boat cuts through the water very smoothly and quietly. It also tracks very well, better than any other boat in its size range that I’ve tried. I have not been out in strong winds yet. Once I am, I will update this review. I do notice the weight difference at 53 pounds, as my older boat is 42 pounds. It’s still easy enough for me to get up on the car rack myself. If you aren’t sure if it will be too heavy for you to do this, I would definitely recommend lifting it (or a boat within a pound of it either way) as if you were putting it up on your car, which I did after I demo’d it. At some point, as age keeps chasing me, I’ll have to alter how I get it on the rack, but that would be the same for a lighter boat, albeit a few years later perhaps. The boat came with a paddle clip, which I enjoy having more than I would have thought I would. The back hatch seals very well. It also come with a crazy cool console, with a dry storage space, water bottle holders, bike water bottle holder under the console, and even a phone charging cord built into it. It is easily removable, but I just keep it on as it helps shade more of my legs and is not even close to being in my way. Being sort of old school, I still carry my Nalgene bottle by my hip, and throw a small backpack behind the seat with my other items. That said, my favorite console feature thus far is the small bungee-type cord that is right at the front of the console. It holds my cell phone securely in place and is in easy reach for anything deemed worthy of a photo, and I slide one of the arms of my sunglasses behind it to keep them handy. Everything about this boat seems to scream, “Yo! Check me out!” in terms of its high quality strength and looks. I love it, and couldn’t recommend it more. Just make sure you can get it on/in your car :)
